Bacterial communities associated with the mucopolysaccharide layers of three coral species affected and unaffected with dark spots disease

2007 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego L. Gil-Agudelo ◽  
Diana P. Fonseca ◽  
Ernesto Weil ◽  
Jaime Garzón-Ferreira ◽  
Garriet W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Coral Species ◽  
Coral Disease ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Carbon Utilization ◽  
Montastraea Faveolata ◽  
Montastraea Annularis ◽  
Normal Microbiota ◽  
Utilization Patterns ◽  
The Caribbean

Dark spots disease (DSD) is a relatively new coral disease that has become one of the most prevalent afflictions in the Caribbean Sea. To partially characterize bacterial communities associated with DSD, carbon utilization patterns of bacterial strains isolated from the surface mucopolysaccharide layers of healthy and DSD-affected Montastraea annularis , Montastraea faveolata , and Siderastrea siderea were compared with each other and with bacterial strains isolated from the water column by using cluster analysis. Differences between healthy and diseased corals were found and were greatest for M. annularis than for the other species. A metabolic group of bacteria similar to Vibrio carchariae was found to be unique to diseased samples. Inoculation experiments on healthy corals did not result in the development of disease signs. However, our results support the hypothesis that stress (in this case disease) alters the normal microbiota in the coral surface mucopolysaccaride layers. Studies are continuing to determine the pathogenic agent(s) responsible for DSD.

scholarly journals An emerging coral disease outbreak decimated Caribbean coral populations and reshaped reef functionality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip ◽  
F. González-Barrios ◽  
Esmeralda Pérez-Cervantes ◽  
Ana Molina-Hernandez ◽  
Nuria Estrada-Saldívar
Keyword(s):  
Coral Species ◽  
Coral Disease ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Coral Abundance ◽  
Caribbean Coral ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Physical Functionality

Abstract Diseases are major drivers of the deterioration of coral reefs, linked to major declines in coral abundance, reef functionality, and reef-related ecosystems services1-3. An outbreak of a new disease is currently rampaging through the populations of the remaining reef-building corals across the Caribbean region. The outbreak was first reported in Florida in 2014 and reached the northern Mesoamerican reef by summer 2018, where it spread across the ~ 450-km reef system only in a few months4. Rapid infection was generalized across all sites and mortality rates ranged from 94% to < 10% among the 21 afflicted coral species. This single event further modified the coral communities across the region by increasing the relative dominance of weedy corals and reducing reef functionality, both in terms of functional diversity and calcium carbonate production. This emergent disease is likely to become the most lethal disturbance ever recorded in the Caribbean, and it will likely result in the onset of a new functional regime where key reef-building and complex branching acroporids (a genus apparently unaffected) will once again become conspicuous structural features in reef systems with yet even lower levels of physical functionality.

scholarly journals ACTIVIDAD ANTAGÓNICA ENTRE BACTERIAS EPIBIÓTICAS AISLADAS DE ESPONJAS MARINAS DEL CARIBE COLOMBIANO Y SU RELACIÓN CON LA MACROEPIBIOSIS

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennyfer Mora Cristancho ◽  
Sven Zea ◽  
Diego L. Gil Agudelo
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Growth Inhibition ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Growth Regulation ◽  
In Vitro Growth ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Total Percentage ◽  
Potential Interactions ◽  
Antagonistic Interactions

Surfaces submerged in the sea are densely colonized by bacteria, and inter-specic interactions such as growth inhibition are important determinants of the development of bacterial communities, as well as of later phases of macrofouling. To determine the potential interactions among biolm bacteria from sponges we carried out in vitro growth inhibition tests between bacterial strains isolated from surfaces with various degrees of macrofouling, from the sponges Aplysina insularis (clean), Aplysina lacunosa (fouled), and from the calcareous surface of the bivalve mollusk Donax sp. The total percentage of antagonistic interactions among these strains was 64 %; strains isolated from clean surfaces inhibited the growth of strains from well-colonized surfaces in a 1:1 ratio. Strains from clean surfaces had a higher frequency of antagonistic interactions. We propose bacterial antagonistic interaction as a possible mechanism of population growth regulation and, consequently, of the development of subsequent phases of macrofouling.

scholarly journals Tagging Frogs with Passive Integrated Transponders Causes Disruption of the Cutaneous Bacterial Community and Proliferation of Opportunistic Fungi

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (15) ◽  
pp. 4779-4784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael E. Antwis ◽  
Gerardo Garcia ◽  
Andrea L. Fidgett ◽  
Richard F. Preziosi
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Opportunistic Fungi ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pit Tagging

ABSTRACTSymbiotic bacterial communities play a key role in protecting amphibians from infectious diseases including chytridiomycosis, caused by the pathogenic fungusBatrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Events that lead to the disruption of the bacterial community may have implications for the susceptibility of amphibians to such diseases. Amphibians are often marked both in the wild and in captivity for a variety of reasons, and although existing literature indicates that marking techniques have few negative effects, the response of cutaneous microbial communities has not yet been investigated. Here we determine the effects of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tagging on culturable cutaneous microbial communities of captive Morelet's tree frogs (Agalychnis moreletii) and assess the isolated bacterial strains for anti-B. dendrobatidisactivityin vitro. We find that PIT tagging causes a major disruption to the bacterial community associated with the skin of frogs (∼12-fold increase in abundance), as well as a concurrent proliferation in resident fungi (up to ∼200-fold increase). Handling also caused a disruption the bacterial community, although to a lesser extent than PIT tagging. However, the effects of both tagging and handling were temporary, and after 2 weeks, the bacterial communities were similar to their original compositions. We also identify two bacterial strains that inhibitB. dendrobatidis, one of which increased in abundance on PIT-tagged frogs at 1 day postmarking, while the other was unaffected. These results show that PIT tagging has previously unobserved consequences for cutaneous microbial communities of frogs and may be particularly relevant for studies that intend to use PIT tagging to identify individuals involved in trials to develop probiotic treatments.

Extracellular phospholipids of isolated bacterial communities

Biofilms ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. V. Tetz ◽  
V. P. Korobov ◽  
N. K. Artemenko ◽  
L. M. Lemkina ◽  
N. V. Panjkova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Surface Film ◽  
Phospholipid Composition ◽  
Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Petri Dish ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Entire Surface ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Lawn

We have made a comparative analysis of the extracellular phospholipid composition of biofilms of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The surface film of a growing bacterial community contains small membrane vesicles and a bilipid layer covering the entire surface of that community. These supracommunity films containing the bilipid layer can cover the entire surface of a Petri dish and form a boundary between bacterial communities and the environment. A mixed bacterial lawn, formed by unrelated bacteria, also becomes covered with a single film containing a lipid bilayer. The phospholipid compositions of the bacterial cell and surface film bilipid layer reflect the nature of the bacterial strains forming the community, but have some specific differences.

Sipunculans associated with dead coral skeletons in the Santa Marta region of Colombia, south-western Caribbean

2013 ◽  
Vol 93 (7) ◽  
pp. 1785-1793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos E. Gómez ◽  
Néstor E. Ardila ◽  
Adolfo Sanjuan-Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Dead Coral ◽  
Discrete Component ◽  
Massive Coral ◽  
Coral Skeletons ◽  
Montastraea Annularis ◽  
Western Caribbean ◽  
The Caribbean

Sipunculans represent a discrete component of the coral reef ecosystem, since they live inside the calcareous structure. They are an important component in terms of biomass and number of organisms. The present study describes the diversity of sipunculans living inside massive coral skeletons. A total of 43 blocks of dead coral skeletons from Montastraea cavernosa, Montastraea annularis and Diploria strigosa were collected from nearby coral reef areas off Santa Marta, on the Colombian Caribbean coast. Using hammer and chisel, blocks of approximately 1 dm3 were broken into small pieces, from which the sipunculans were extracted. A total of 381 organisms were obtained from the coral blocks comprising four families and 10 species. All the species found have been widely reported in different studies from the Caribbean region. Aspidosiphon fischeri and Phascolosoma perlucens were the two most abundant species comprising more than 60% of the total organisms with a mean density of 18.52 ± 4.64 organisms dm−3. Dead coral substrate from M. cavernosa had the greatest abundance (N = 148), followed by D. strigosa (N = 121) and M. annularis (N = 112). There were no significant differences in the abundance, richness, and diversity of sipunculans between coral skeletons; and within samples there was high variability suggesting that the skeletal substrates analysed came from coral skeletons of different unknown ages of succession. These results describe the sipunculan community structure that live inside three important massive coral skeletons, and contributes to the knowledge of the cryptobiota diversity of the Santa Marta area of Colombia.

scholarly journals Coral Disease Diagnostics: What's between a Plague and a Band?

2006 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 981-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Ainsworth ◽  
E. Kramasky-Winter ◽  
Y. Loya ◽  
O. Hoegh-Guldberg ◽  
M. Fine
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Coral Disease ◽  
Disease Diagnosis ◽  
Black Band Disease ◽  
External Appearance ◽  
Tropical Oceans ◽  
Disease Diagnostics ◽  
Black Band ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Extensive Necrosis

ABSTRACT Recently, reports of coral disease have increased significantly across the world's tropical oceans. Despite increasing efforts to understand the changing incidence of coral disease, very few primary pathogens have been identified, and most studies remain dependent on the external appearance of corals for diagnosis. Given this situation, our current understanding of coral disease and the progression and underlying causes thereof is very limited. In the present study, we use structural and microbial studies to differentiate different forms of black band disease: atypical black band disease and typical black band disease. Atypical black band diseased corals were infected with the black band disease microbial consortium yet did not show any of the typical external signs of black band disease based on macroscopic observations. In previous studies, these examples, here referred to as atypical black band disease, would have not been correctly diagnosed. We also differentiate white syndrome from white diseases on the basis of tissue structure and the presence/absence of microbial associates. White diseases are those with dense bacterial communities associated with lesions of symbiont loss and/or extensive necrosis of tissues, while white syndromes are characteristically bacterium free, with evidence for extensive programmed cell death/apoptosis associated with the lesion and the adjacent tissues. The pathology of coral disease as a whole requires further investigation. This study emphasizes the importance of going beyond the external macroscopic signs of coral disease for accurate disease diagnosis.

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